Mandatory overtime isn't against the law

Oct. 4, 2012 07:18 AM

I was working for a company where we had to work 60 hours or more a week, including mandatory Saturdays. When they started talking about the possibility of mandatory Sundays, I left. I was sleeping five hours a night and couldn't physically keep up. In my interview, I was not told about the mandatory overtime and weekend hours. Was it legal for them to not disclose this during the interview?

Jill Chasson

Coppersmith, Shermer, Brockelman

I am assuming that you were an at-will employee and that there was no contract of any kind that limited the work hours for your position.

Although it might have been a better business practice for this company to disclose the mandatory overtime hours during the hiring process, there was no legal requirement that it do so. Under those same assumptions, it was also legal for the company to require the overtime work.

You should make sure, however, that you were properly paid for all of the hours you worked. Arizona's minimum wage for 2012 is $7.65/hour and, under federal law, if you were a non-exempt employee, the hours you worked beyond 40 in a week should have been paid at the overtime rate of 11/2 times your regular hourly pay rate.

Isaac P. Hernandez

Hernandez Law Firm

Except for employees under 16 years old, employers in Arizona are generally allowed to require employees to work mandatory overtime, even on weekends and holidays.

Absent a contract setting parameters on the number of hours worked or when the employee will be required to work -- whether negotiated directly between the employee and the employer or under a collective-bargaining agreement negotiated between the employer and a union -- an employer can modify work schedules at any time.

However, schedule changes and overtime requirements should be applied in a consistent and non-discriminatory manner to avoid claims from employees who feel singled out, or treated less favorably, because of a protected characteristic, such as race, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, disability, veteran status, etc.